CVE-2025-38351
CVE-2025-38351 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low.
Key facts
- Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (5th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-21959
- Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/hyper-v: Skip non-canonical addresses during PV TLB flush In KVM guests with Hyper-V hypercalls enabled, the hypercalls HVCALL_FLUSH_VIRTUAL_ADDRESS_LIST and HVCALL_FLUSH_VIRTUAL_ADDRESS_LIST_EX allow a guest to request invalidation of portions of a virtual TLB. For this, the hypercall parameter includes a list of GVAs that are supposed to be invalidated. However, when non-canonical GVAs are passed, there is currently no filtering in place and they are eventually passed to checked invocations of INVVPID on Intel / INVLPGA on AMD. While AMD's INVLPGA silently ignores non-canonical addresses (effectively a no-op), Intel's INVVPID explicitly signals VM-Fail and ultimately triggers the WARN_ONCE in invvpid_error(): invvpid failed: ext=0x0 vpid=1 gva=0xaaaaaaaaaaaaa000 WARNING: CPU: 6 PID: 326 at arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:482 invvpid_error+0x91/0xa0 [kvm_intel] Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm 9pnet_virtio irqbypass fuse CPU: 6 UID: 0 PID: 326 Comm: kvm-vm Not tainted 6.15.0 #14 PREEMPT(voluntary) RIP: 0010:invvpid_error+0x91/0xa0 [kvm_intel] Call Trace: vmx_flush_tlb_gva+0x320/0x490 [kvm_intel] kvm_hv_vcpu_flush_tlb+0x24f/0x4f0 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x3013/0x5810 [kvm] Hyper-V documents that invalid GVAs (those that are beyond a partition's GVA space) are to be ignored. While not completely clear whether this ruling also applies to non-canonical GVAs, it is likely fine to make that assumption, and manual testing on Azure confirms "real" Hyper-V interprets the specification in the same way. Skip non-canonical GVAs when processing the list of address to avoid tripping the INVVPID failure. Alternatively, KVM could filter out "bad" GVAs before inserting into the FIFO, but practically speaking the only downside of pushing validation to the final processing is that doing so is suboptimal for the guest, and no well-behaved guest will request TLB flushes for non-canonical addresses.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-38351?
- In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/hyper-v: Skip non-canonical addresses during PV TLB flush In KVM guests with Hyper-V hypercalls enabled, the hypercalls HVCALL_FLUSH_VIRTUAL_ADDRESS_LIST and HVCALL_FLUSH_VIRTUAL_ADDRESS_LIST_EX allow a guest to request invalidation of portions of a virtual TLB. For this, the hypercall parameter includes a list of GVAs that are supposed to be invalidated. However, when non-canonical GVAs are passed, there is currently no filtering in place and they are eventually passed to checked invocations of INVVPID on Intel / INVLPGA on AMD. While AMD's INVLPGA silently ignores non-canonical addresses (effectively a no-op), Intel's INVVPID explicitly signals VM-Fail and ultimately triggers the WARN_ONCE in invvpid_error(): invvpid failed: ext=0x0 vpid=1 gva=0xaaaaaaaaaaaaa000 WARNING: CPU: 6 PID: 326 at arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:482 invvpid_error+0x91/0xa0 [kvm_intel] Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm 9pnet_virtio irqbypass fuse CPU: 6 UID: 0 PID: 326 Comm: kvm-vm Not tainted 6.15.0 #14 PREEMPT(voluntary) RIP: 0010:invvpid_error+0x91/0xa0 [kvm_intel] Call Trace: vmx_flush_tlb_gva+0x320/0x490 [kvm_intel] kvm_hv_vcpu_flush_tlb+0x24f/0x4f0 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x3013/0x5810 [kvm] Hyper-V documents that invalid GVAs (those that are beyond a partition's GVA space) are to be ignored. While not completely clear whether this ruling also applies to non-canonical GVAs, it is likely fine to make that assumption, and manual testing on Azure confirms "real" Hyper-V interprets the specification in the same way. Skip non-canonical GVAs when processing the list of address to avoid tripping the INVVPID failure. Alternatively, KVM could filter out "bad" GVAs before inserting into the FIFO, but practically speaking the only downside of pushing validation to the final processing is that doing so is suboptimal for the guest, and no well-behaved guest will request TLB flushes for non-canonical addresses.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38351?
- CVE-2025-38351 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
- Is CVE-2025-38351 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (5th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2025-38351?
- CVE-2025-38351 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 6 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2025-38351?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
- Does CVE-2025-38351 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
- Yes. CVE-2025-38351 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-21959.
- When was CVE-2025-38351 published?
- CVE-2025-38351 was published on 2025-07-19 and last updated on 2026-06-17.
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d4dea3f76510c0afe3f18c910f647b816f7d566
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5784ea45663330eaa868c518ea40e7a9f06aa2d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1b3ad11ec11c88ba9f79a73d27d4cda3f80fb24
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa787ac07b3ceb56dd88a62d1866038498e96230
Affected products (6)
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
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